Book Review: The First Billion

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The First Billion     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Christopher Reich
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Delacorte, Aug 2002, $26.95, 438 pp.

John "Jett" Gavallan knows his Black Jet Securities Company has been in trouble since the bottom fell out of the dot.com world. Borrowing from his days as a fighter pilot, Jett takes a major chance on a Russian firm Mercury Broadband that he plans to go public via the New York Stock Exchange.

However, an online highly regarded financial analyst, Private Eye- PO, warns people that Mercury Broadband is a bad investment stunning Jett with the revelations. Jett’s assistant Grafton Byrnes travels incognito to Moscow to uncover the truth while Jett tries to locate Private Eye-PO. Soon Jett heads to Russia to confront Kirov, the CEO of Mercury Broadband, who may be part of the Russian Mafia.

Though not quite on a par with NUMBERED ACCOUNT, THE FIRST BILLION is an interesting financial thriller that is at its best when Jett struggles between ethics and the deal of a lifetime. The latter half of the story line turns into an international chase tale with body counts outgrowing monetary accounts and Jett acting more like John Wayne. Still readers will find this adventure exhilarating but would have preferred that Christopher Reich keep the hero continuing his work on the bottom line of a ledger sheet rather than body bags.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner